Now, while I don’t normally advocate random acts of violence (you, in the back! Stop giggling!) I have to say that in the case of Perez Hilton, I support savage beatings on general principle. The man is, frankly, scum. He alone makes me think, for just a moment “Maybe that Rev Phelps guy has a point”… His continued existence sets back the gay-rights movement years – if not decades.

He put out an apology – of sorts – and the only bit that wasn’t self-serving (well, wasn’t entirely self-serving) was the following:

“I will be donating any money collected from my lawsuit against Polo Molina, road manager for the Black Eyed Peas, to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.”

Matt Shepard, in case you forgot, was a gay teen who was savagely beaten to death in Wyoming back in 1998 (his killers tried to beat the murder rap by claiming “gay rage” – they were so homophobic/closeted they went nuts an killed the gay guy, which the court rightly called a pile of bullshit). Matt’s mom runs the foundation, and unfortunately for Perez, she is possessed with a sense of decency. Here are some choice bits of the statement the Foundation put out:

“The Matthew Shepard Foundation was surprised to learn this morning via media reports that blogger Perez Hilton has announced plans to donate, to our organization, the proceeds of a lawsuit…

We had no advance notice or contact from Mr. Hilton or his representatives regarding this proposal, nor any communication since he posted this plan to his website. We do not know the details of the lawsuit, whether it has been filed, the nature of his claims or the likely outcome. But because the lawsuit presumably involves the physical attack prompted by Mr. Hilton’s admitted use of an anti-gay slur, the Foundation will be unable to accept any funds obtained in such a manner.

…we also feel compelled to point out that use of epithets can often lead to physical violence, as it appears it may have in this case, and that the Matthew Shepard Foundation has worked for more than 10 years to bring to people’s attention the consequences of hateful or intolerant language.”

Tyler Durden of wwtdd.com has the most accurate quote regarding the entire affair:

If you’re a gay guyin the news because someone punched you, and the most prominent gay rights organization has asked you to apologize, and a charity who works to end violence against gay people won’t take money from you, I think it’s safe to say you’re a piece of shit.

Amen. Maybe if other people that Perez treats like crap slapped the taste out of his mouth, he’s act like less of a pile of crap. Prejean alone should get a couple of free swings…

6/23/2009

What ties many of us to the Iranian power struggle is a sense of common purpose. A purpose that is in the heart of the young men and women of Iran, as it has been at the heart of many national movements over the last 233 years. Jefferson, Franklin and Adams said it about as succinctly as one could want. Doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Asian, Christian, Jew, Muslim or none of the above. All you have to be is human.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

6/22/2009

This was actually sent to me by a long-time friend who has the annoying quirk of being a Disciple of Ear Leader. She not only has an Obama coffee cup, but owns an Obama belt buckle. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s getting an Obama Kool-Aid pitcher for her birthday.

In one of those man-bites-dog stories, the LA Times ruins SF District Attorney Kamala Harris, at least as far as her viability for the state Attorney General post is concerned. At least if you think rescuing illegal immigrant violent felons from jail and putting them back on the street is a problem.

It seems that Ms Harris’ office runs a drug-diversion program, Back on Track, that focuses on giving young first-offenders job skills they can use to avoid “a life of crime.” They plead guilty to felony drug-possession in exchange for probation and a year-long program operated by Goodwill Industries. If they drop out, their probation is revoked and (presumably) off to prison they go. Sounds good on the face, but not all the results have been good. Not only do about 40% drop out, but there seems to be quite a few illegal immigrants involved. Job training isn’t much good for folks who cannot legally work.

One noted pupil was Alexander Izaguirre:

The assault on Amanda Kiefer at dusk in San Francisco’s posh Pacific Heights was extraordinary enough for its cruelty.

A stranger, later identified as Alexander Izaguirre, snatched her purse and hopped into an SUV, police say. The driver sped forward to run Kiefer down. Terrified, she leaped onto the hood and saw Izaguirre and the driver laughing. The driver slammed on the brakes, propelling Kiefer to the pavement. Her skull fractured. Blood oozed from her ear.

Only after the July 2008 attack did Kiefer learn of the crime’s political ramifications. Izaguirre, police told her, was an illegal immigrant who had pleaded guilty four months earlier to a drug felony for selling cocaine in the seedy Tenderloin area. …

… Kiefer, who packages medical devices for a living, said she has left California for good, in part because of the trauma of nearly having been killed on her way to dinner last summer in Pacific Heights. Nearly a year later, she remains baffled that San Francisco authorities ever let Izaguirre and other illegal immigrant felons back onto the streets.

San Francisco has a history of shielding illegals, of course. Rather than allow deportation, SF will release criminals from custody. For example, Edwin Ramos, an illegal repeatedly released by the city. Ramos is now charged in a triple homicide where he killed a man and his sons in an act of road rage. This is causing Harris a problem, since she has vowed never to ask for the death penalty, yet many SF residents think this should be an exception.

All in all, the Times makes a fairly good case why Harris would be the AG From Hell. She still stands some chance in the Democrat primary, but slim to none in the general.

Maybe that’s why the Times is trying to stop her. I guess this means that she won’t be listed by the NY Times as a likely female President anymore

The fixed election in Iran, with its blatant manufacture of millions of votes and/or assignment of votes without regard to ballots, gives rise to the question: “Could it happen here?” The short answer is “No”, the longer answer is “No, except when it is very close.”

Unlike Iran, we don’t have a direct election for President; we have our idiosyncratic Electoral College system. The EC is often criticized precisely on this point, and the fact that it occasionally results in an odd outcome. It is, instead, the solid basis for our 220 years as a republic.

The EC provides several levels of protection to the legitimacy of our election. It is first and foremost a firewall. The system distributes vote counting to the states. Since states only award electoral votes, padding state totals doesn’t do anything. Since such shenanigans are possible only when one has complete control over the counting, it usually doesn’t affect the state’s outcome, either.

Only when the state total is very close and one controls a sizable portion of the state can the outcome be swayed without notice. And, in the end, you have only changed one state’s electoral vote; forty-nine to go. So, it also takes a close federal election to matter. Chicago 1960 (successful fraud) and Florida 2000 (take your pick) are possible examples where the system failed.

Secondly, the system partitions any needed recounts to one or a few states. Election 2000 is a perfect example. The federal margin (~500K votes for Gore), the Florida margin (537 votes for Bush) and the New Mexico margin (267 votes for Gore), along with close votes in Oregon and Wisconsin would have meant a nationwide recount. If you think the Florida recount was bad, multiply that by 50. Given Bush v Gore, you have to count them all again; can’t cherry-pick.

Third, the system provides a tie-breaker. Tight elections (margin less than, say, 1%) go the the candidate who won the most states. This is part and parcel of the Senate-membership deal struck in Philadelphia in 1787, and not at all an accident. This also adds to the difficulty in rigging an election, as it is the large metropolitan areas where machine control is most likely, and they cannot easily get past the dead hand of the two base EC votes per state.

In short, it could only happen here if we reformed the Electoral College to be more “democratic.”

I’ve been following several folks in Iran via Twitter, and today the mood is decidedly somber. The anger has faded to desperation and the hope of Western assistance has dissolved into a feeling of betrayal. Despair is really the only word for it.

6/17/2009

President Obama is hesitant to “meddle” in Iran, having just apologized for a previous occasion when the US did just that. Now try to guess which meddling attempt he apologized for.

1953 — Dwight Eisenhower (R) allows the CIA to assist Iranians who want to replace the elected Prime Minister Mossadegh with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Mossadegh had nationalized US and British oil companies and seemed unable or unwilling to deal with Soviet-backed Communist subversion.

1977-79 — Jimmy Carter (D) alternates between criticism of the Shah and neglect of increasingly unstable Iran, while the Ayatollah Khomeini organizes for revolution. In the end, the US takes no action in support of the Shah and allows Khomeini to take power.

Number 1, number 2, neither or both?

Extra credit:

The US supported the British/Soviet invasion of Iran that drove the Nazi Reza Shah from power in 1941.

6/16/2009

Many on the right have complained about the MSM’s subservience to the Democratic Party in general, and Barack Obama in particular. “Nonsense”, we are told. Over and over, they claim to be evenhanded and non-partisan. But anyone with any sense whatsoever knows it is just a mask.

Next week, the mask slips.

ABC News (according to an [unlinkable] Drudge flash), will basically turn their network’s news division over to the Obama administration for “An Evening’s HealthCare Propaganda with Barack”, although they may call it something else. THe Republican Party will not be allowed to rebut or participate in the “discussion.” Even the ABC Evening News will originate from the White House.

A letter from the RNC to ABC News:

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party's opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff

ABCNEWS responds:

"ABCNEWS prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers -- of all political persuasions -- even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABCNEWS is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue.

"ABCNEWS alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience."

Yeah, right. “Trust us.” They have never ever done this for any president before. Journalistic ethics and intergrity are now officially oxymorons. Life as satire.

6/15/2009

I don’t write much here because you all seem to have the bases covered. I haven’t really had much to add, but I want to try. Unfortunately, incisive political commentary, amazing research skills and timeliness aren’t my strong suits. For the next few days I’ll put up some older pieces I’ve done. Let me know if you want to see more (or less). And let me know if language is an issue. We can’t all be Scott Jacobs.

This is a piece I put up back when I thought there was no way that this country would elect Barack Obama. I think it was right around the time of the seal. There are a lot of things I would fix now. Mostly, though, I want to make clear that I am not a Birther, I just like tweaking the O-bots. And, if you read that far, please realize I’m not mocking Michelle Obama’s looks, but Barack caught in flagrante. Jeez, the bases we have to cover anymore…

THE CANDIDATE GENERAL’S SONG
(after Gilbert and Sullivan (and Iowahawk!); to be played on a rusty calliope)

I’m the very model of a modern Candidate-General.
I’ve information vegetable (especially arugul…)
Uh…uh… O! I am clean and bright and uh…uh… articulate.
Did I ever tell you, from Harvard Law did I matriculate?
I’m very well acquainted, too, with people communistical.
I ditch them when they “dis” me Kos I’m very egotistical.
With my flip-flopping positions, it seems I’m always in the news.
But be assured I’ll screw Israel Kos it’s full of fucking Joos

He said, in matters vegetable (especially arugul…)
O! says that He’s a suitable modern Candidate General.
You have read my mythic histories, how Barry became Barack.
Who’s sayin’ Obama cannot win? This election is a lock!
I need to buy a longer bus cuz there’s no more room below it.
That’s where past and present friends go cuz I don’t intend to blow it.
Samantha Powers and Jim Johnson and ole Jeremiah Wright
Goolsby and my own Grandma (did I ever tell you she is white?).
My flag-trampling friend Bill Ayers, yes, the man I barely even know,
Has an “explosive” personality, so he’ll be last to go.

His “explosive” personality, ensures he’ll be last to go!
It’s just like it was in the 60’s: he’s always the last to go!
If your Daddy always paid your bills, then you would be last to go!(more…)